The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1887-08-18
To the People of Minnesota.

The special school meeting held
at Melrose Aug. 18th was largely at
tended by the voters of the district.
Notwithstanding the drlzzling rain of
the evening and the darkness of the
night both the friends and oppon-
ents of free school fully aroused to
the importance of the issue. The
meeting was called to order at 7 so
O'Clock p. NJ, and did not close until
midnight at which time the people
returned to their homes, in some
cases parents carrying small children
in their arms through the woods for
a distance Of three miles, after having
witnessed probably the most import.
ant school meeting in the issue in.
volved that was ever held in the state
of Minnesota. On one side were
arrayed the friends Of free schools,
who were willing to come out
on such night at great inconven-
fence to themselves, to defend the
free schools and the right of the poor
as we'll as of the rich, to give their
children a common school education;
while on the other side were ar
rayed, as at the previous meeting,
Rev. Williams, pastor of the Ger
man Catholic church, the sisters of
the order. of st. Bendedict, the
bankers and most of the merchants of
the village with all the influence they
were able to bring into their service
to vote down the school. The means
used by the opponents of free schools
at this meeting were very question
able. They had the clerk of the
district on their side, also the moder-
ator of the meeting, and conducted
the meeting without any regard to
law. Each party appointed two
challengers who, under the laws of
last winter, were the only persons
in addition to the judges of election,
allowed to remain within six feet OF
the ballot box. The moderator and
clerk, who acted as judges of election,
instead of receiving the ballot them
selves, and depositing them in the
ballot box as required by law, permit
ted one of the ehallengers of the party
opposed to free schools to receive the
ballots, and after examining them to
ascertain on which side the party vot
ed, to deposit the vote in the ballot
box.
The ballots of those in favor of free
schools were printed on plain, white
paper as provided by law of the last
Legislature, while the ballots of the
opposite party were on paper ruled on
both sides. Before the ballotlng COM
menced parties holding the ballots on
ruled paper were informed that they
were illegal, and that they could have
printed ballots on plain paper from
the friends of public schools, so they
should not be delayed, as it only
required the erasure of the word eyes"
and writing the word mo" on each
ballot to make them suitable for their
use. But this suggestion did not
meet with any favor, aud after several
of these marked tickets had been de-
posted in the ballot box the challeng-
ers for the parties in favor of free
schools objected to any more such
tickets bing placed in the ballot box,
as they were illegal, not in accordance
with Section 16 of an act in relation
to elections, passed at the-last session
of the Legislature. The judges, how
ever, decided TO receive such ballots,
after the law had been read to them.
Owing to this decision of the
judges several parties who were mem
bers of Rev. Williams congregation
were intimidated from voting in favor
of public schools, as it would De
known when their ballot was present.
ed on which side they voted, the
challenger who received the ballots
exposing them in such a inanner that
persons standing six feet distant from
the polls could tell whether the ballots
were on plain or ruled paper. During
the distribution OF the ballots Rev.
Williams and some of his followers
went about the rooms examining the
tickets of members of his congrega-
ton, and when he found any of them
holding ballots in favor extending the
term of school from five to nine and
one-half months, taking and in some
cases snatching, the ballots out oil
their hands and casting them under
his feet. Under such circumstances il
! is no wonder that the friends of pub.